


Above and Below

by LadyWallace



Series: Above and Below [1]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Angst, Aziraphale just wants to help people, Caring Crowley, Crowley just wants Aziraphale to not be so trusting, Crowley to the rescue, Gen, Hurt Aziraphale (Good Omens), Hurt/Comfort, Post Armagedidn't, Post Series, Torture, basically Gabriel is a dick, both physical and psychological, captive Aziraphale, comeuppance, conniving Gabriel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:28:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21729820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyWallace/pseuds/LadyWallace
Summary: After Heaven botches a mission on Earth, Gabriel contacts Aziraphale to ask him if he wants his old job back. But he has ulterior motives for his own gain, and with power and his pride at stake, Gabriel's willing to do anything to get his way. It's up to Aziraphale and Crowley to fight back.
Relationships: Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: Above and Below [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1625518
Comments: 35
Kudos: 193
Collections: Hurt Aziraphale, My faves - Good Omens Whump





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, during Whumptober, I had a lot of requests to make the "Stay Quiet" prompt I did for Good Omens into a longer story, so that is what this is, with a little added plottiness, which is just as convoluted as all the other stories where I need to write Aziraphale and Crowley out of trouble XD Hope you guys all enjoy! This story will be in 3 parts.
> 
> Also, there are mentions of my other Whumptober prompt "Isolation" in this so consider that a bit of a back story.
> 
> This story also follows show cannon.

Aziraphale sipped his cappuccino, trying to look nonchalant as he kept glancing across the street toward the place where, presumably, it was all going to 'go down' soon.

"Stop it," Crowley growled at him from across the café table. "You'll tip them off."

"Well, I have to see what's going on," Aziraphale protested.

"Then get a pair of sunglasses, why don't you?" Crowley rolled his eyes. Of course, with the glasses, Aziraphale couldn't actually see him do so, but Crowley had a way of rolling his entire head which had the same effect.

The angel made a face at the thought of sunglasses but spotted a dark figure walking down the opposite sidewalk and let out a small sound, placing his cup down on the saucer again. "Ah, looks like it's time."

Crowley shushed him again with a hiss but snapped his fingers, money appearing to pay the bill before he got up.

"Get into position. I'm going to tail him."

Aziraphale nodded and got up from the table, heading casually over toward the park on the other side of the street.

They'd gotten a tip, or rather, Crowley had, that Hell was going to attempt to do _something_ to one of the members of Parliament. Exactly what that something was, was unknown, but they had figured that if Hell wanted anything with an M.P. then it probably wasn't going to be good. This wasn't the usual kind of job they had been taking of late, but they tried to help where they could, and it wasn't like anyone else was going to.

Besides, though Aziraphale would never say it, he was a little relieved this one didn't involve civilians. For the most part he and Crowley had managed to do a lot of good helping out people with different needs, whether they were sought out (they had an advert in the paper now!) or they simply happened to stumble across someone that needed help. It was just that the week before there had been a particularly bad car crash and he and Crowley hadn't gotten there in time to save everyone. It had taken them a while to get over that.

It was no secret that Aziraphale knew his miracles were not as strong as they once were. He was only operating on his own powers now, without the added aid of Heaven, and for the most part he could do whatever needed to be done, but he couldn't do everything anymore, and he couldn't help people who were already mostly gone. No matter how much it hurt him not to be able to.

But this, this was something he could do. He could thwart demons in their wiles. After all, he had been doing that for a long time. Well…in theory anyway. It didn't matter that the one demon in particular that he had been thwarting turned out to be his best friend in the end.

" _Angel!"_

The hiss came through the communication system they had put in their ears at Crowley's insistence before the mission. Aziraphale felt a small thrill at it, like a spy. He'd missed that from his days in the SOE back in Second World War.

"Yes?" he asked.

_"Are you in position? The target is on the move!"_

"Yes, I'm here."

He was looking around the park, trying to find the particular member of Parliament who was to be the demon's target, and finally spotted him, strolling with his wife down the sidewalk.

Aziraphale headed over there and was about to intercept them, trying to come up with some excuse to pull them away, when a familiar figure appeared out of nowhere beside the fountain.

Aziraphale skidded to a halt, and the other figure paused as well, both of them catching sight of each other at the same time.

"Gabriel?" Aziraphale said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you, Aziraphale," the archangel said.

Aziraphale looked around the park and saw two more angels standing off to one side, positioned around the path.

 _"Did you say Gabriel?"_ Crowley's voice came over the com. " _Aziraphale, stay there, I'm going to try to intercept…"_

A flair of static shrieked through the com and Aziraphale winced, reaching up to touch his ear.

"You need to get out of here," Gabriel told him firmly. "I'm on official business, and you're not going to mess this up for me."

"Official business?" Aziraphale inquired. "Why, I'm also on a mission. Very important. Protecting a Member of Parliament."

Gabriel's eyes widened before his face set in anger. "Well, it's our job now. Get out."

"But, Gabriel…"

Gabriel pushed past him. Aziraphale cursed and tried to reach Crowley but there was still just static on the other end.

"Crowley, where is the demon? Do you have him?" he asked.

Just then the rogue demon in question stepped out of a copse of trees in front of the man and his wife, waving a knife.

The woman shrieked and the man tried to protect her, getting into position so that he was between the demon and her.

The angels rushed forward, Gabriel drawing a sword right in front of the terrified public.

"By Heaven's orders, I demand you go back to Hell!" he commanded the demon.

The demon sneered and lunged forward. Aziraphale, thinking quickly, snapped his fingers and caused the tree branch above the demon to break, falling on his head. Unfortunately, Gabriel had gotten into range at just that moment and he was also slammed by the branch, falling to the ground with a cry, his sword flying several feet from his hand.

The demon attempted to scramble free as Aziraphale hurried forward, taking the man and his wife by their arms and pulling them to safety.

"Come along now," he said, ignoring their questions.

The demon had extricated himself from the branch as Gabriel continued to flail. He grabbed the archangel's sword with a cackle and lunged toward Aziraphale and the humans.

The other angels had gotten caught in the gathered crowd and were unable to get through. Aziraphale looked around for inspiration, but didn't have to. Crowley stepped out from under the trees and made a gesture toward the demon. A root grew out of the ground and tripped the demon. He went sprawling.

The sound of sirens could be heard as the police showed up. The demon cursed and sunk into the ground, taking Gabriel's blade with him. The archangel had finally freed himself with the help of one of the other angels who had eventually made it to the scene, and Gabriel was shouting, grabbing a sword from one of his underlings.

"I'm sorry, what…?" the Parliament member began, seeming at a loss as he simply held onto his wife.

Aziraphale gave them a smile. "Don't worry, it's all over now. Why don't you just go talk to the police."

Crowley hurried over to them. "Everyone good?"

"Yes, they're fine," Aziraphale said with huge relief.

"Good, then let's go, angel. Now!"

Aziraphale touched the couple's arms, putting a swift blessing on them that should keep them safe at least until the demons lost interest in them. "Do be careful in future," he told them and swiftly followed Crowley as the police arrived on the scene.

They found the place they had parked the Bentley and stood to watch the ensuing chaos.

"Wot are you about?" the officer asked Gabriel as the archangel walked up to the M.P. and his wife, sword in hand.

"Nothing you need concern yourself with, human," Gabriel said dismissively. "Now, where is that demon?"

It was Aziraphale's turn to roll his eyes. "Oh, he truly is hopeless," he muttered, cringing.

Crowley shook his head. "This can only go badly. Nice trick with the branch, by the way. The bastard slipped me when I tried to tail him."

"Oh, thank you," Aziraphale said, pleased. "Of course, I didn't mean to hit Gabriel too…"

"Didn't you?" Crowley raised an eyebrow. "That was the best part."

The police were not happy with Gabriel's attitude and threatening manner and started to advance on him.

"Oh, oh no," Aziraphale said suddenly, straightening up. "If they attack him…"

"Yeah," Crowley growled. "He's not gonna be happy."

They hurried back into the park just as Gabriel and the other angels simply disappeared. The police and the surrounding bystanders all cried out in shock. Crowley and Aziraphale swiftly intercepted the policemen and bystanders, washing a wave of confusion and a blanket of misdirection over them. In a few minutes they would come to and have only a vague idea of what had happened. Namely, that a mugger had thought to take the purse of the Parliament member's wife, and had gotten away before the police had made it to the scene of the crime. The angel and the demon had retreated to their car, deciding they had done a good day's work.

"We really shouldn't have to clean up their messes," Crowley growled. "And I thought Hastur was bad."

"I know," Aziraphale sighed. "I didn't expect them to show up down here. This is rather annoying."

"Maybe it was high profile," Crowley muttered as they got into the Bentley and drove back toward Soho. "After all, those were the kind of things you used to do for them."

"Well, yes and nothing's really changed. I still do those things, after all," Aziraphale said. "I just don't do it for them anymore."

"Which is for the better," Crowley said with a satisfied smile.

It was, and Aziraphale knew it. But the appearance of Gabriel and the other angels worried him. It had been several months since they had stopped the apocalypse from happening, and in that time both Heaven and Hell had been quiet, neither bothering Aziraphale and Crowley. After they had failed to execute either of them, they seemed to want to leave them alone to their own devices, almost afraid of touching them.

But both factions had been stirring again, and Aziraphale was afraid that it was only a matter of time before they decided that they wanted to work out some differences on Earth again. And if that happened, then they would probably try to either recruit Aziraphale and Crowley to their sides or simply take them out to avoid the trouble of dealing with them again.

Aziraphale sighed and clutched the dashboard as Crowley sped up. "Well, what's done is done now. We can't take it back. And we did save the man and his wife from…well, whatever was going to happen to them."

Crowley made a slightly disgruntled noise. Neither of them were entirely satisfied with how this mission had gone down, but the only thing they could do was move on and find more people to help.

That was what they did, after all.

_~~~~~~~_

_Gabriel was seething._

"I'm sorry, you lost your sword?" Michael demanded, her voice pitching higher in shock. "To a _demon?"_

Gabriel held up his hand. "Yes, yes, that's technically what happened, but…"

"And what about the M.P.?"

"Well, he's fine, so the mission didn't fail. That's all that matters," Gabriel said shortly.

Michael raised an eyebrow. "That's all that matters? Why, what else happened?" She directed this to one of the other angels and Gabriel shot him a look that could kill.

The lesser angel caught his eye, gulped, then had the same reaction when he turned back to Michael. "Well…we…we weren't the only ones in the park, Michael."

"Who else was there?" she demanded. "Someone answer me!"

"Aziraphale," the angel squeaked out.

"He was meddling," Gabriel cut in. "He's still working with that demon Crowley—they might have been working with that other demon too for all we know! The whole thing might have just been a ruse to get us out in the open. We know Hell is planning something again…"

"Why would Aziraphale even have reason to be there?" Michael asked.

"Exactly!" Gabriel pointed out. "He and that demon are planning something, I know it."

"But, sir, if this was all their plan, then how come we heard about the mission through Official Channels?" asked one of the angels who had been on the mission.

Gabriel turned a furious glower onto her but he didn't have an answer for that.

"Whatever happened, somehow the M. P. is still saved. If Aziraphale proves to be more of a nuisance, I'll deal with him personally." He turned to his subordinates. "Now, get out of here and go back to your duties.

They hurried away, glad to be gone, leaving just Gabriel with Michael and Sandalphon.

"I find it hard to believe that a lowly demon pulled one over on you, Gabriel," Sandalphon said with a slight sniff.

Gabriel clenched his hands into fists. "You've been to earth, you know how hard it is to operate things when there are humans around! Aziraphale's the only angel who has ever been able to do that successfully, which is why he had the advantage on us."

An idea began to form in Gabriel's mind. "So maybe we should recruit him."

The other two angels stared at him blankly.

"Recruit him?" Michael demanded. "After what he did? Have you lost your mind?"

"Not bringing him back to work with us, just, hiring out his services."

"No," Sandalphon said firmly. "You must be mad to think that is even a liable option, Gabriel. With things heating up again, we can't afford to have an angel we know is working with demons anywhere close to any plans we might make."

Gabriel left for his office, hating that he was going to have to fill out a form for his missing sword. As he scribbled out the appropriate words, he thought about his idea again. Of course, the last thing he wanted to do was involve Aziraphale in anything Heaven related, but he wasn't talking about a partnership, he was talking about using the angel to their advantage. If it bothered the others so much, well, Heaven never even need know.

The memory of all the lesser angels and his own peers looking at him like he was a complete idiot spurred him on. He grabbed another piece of paper, abandoning his report, and started to scribble something else.

_~~~~~~~_

_Aziraphale went to reluctantly_ flip his store sign to OPEN then sat down at his desk in the back of his shop to finish his morning cup of tea.

A few minutes later, the bell on the door rang, and Crowley called out.

"Back here," he returned.

The demon strode in, holding something, which he dropped onto the desk. "This was in your mailbox. Smells Heavenly," Crowley said with a slightly disgusted sniff.

Aziraphale frowned and took up the letter, seeing from the seal on the back that it was indeed from Heaven.

A small anxiousness twisted his stomach, but he opened it all the same as Crowley poured himself a cup of tea and took a seat on the couch.

"Well, what is it?" the demon asked.

Aziraphale read it out loud. " 'To the former Principality, Aziraphale: After seeing your heroic rescue of the Member of Parliament Mr.- and his wife in the park last week…'"

"Heroic rescue?" Crowley asked skeptically, sliding his glasses down his nose.

Aziraphale shot him a look before he continued. " '…it has come to my conclusion that your knowledge of Earth and its customs and your ability to move among humans is a valuable asset. I have a proposition I would like to discuss, another job to help a person in need. If you are interested please come see me. Sincerely, Gabriel.'"

Aziraphale lowered the letter carefully to his desk. "How strange," he muttered.

"Come on, angel, you can't actually be considering that's anything but some kind of ruse to get you to work for them. They try one mission, see how bad they fail, and who do they look for to help them again?" Crowley sipped his tea angrily. "Ignore it."

That was admittedly his first reaction, but Aziraphale gave pause. "Well, yes, I'm sure that's part of it, but…Crowley, what if they have important missions that we miss hearing about. If every one of their missions goes as bad as that one last week, then people could die! Innocent people!"

"Aziraphale, these are the same people who wanted to burn you alive only months ago!" Crowley appealed.

"Yes, I know, but…"

"Oh, no," Crowley said, standing up. "You can't seriously be considering taking Gabriel up on his offer."

Aziraphale sighed, and picked up his teacup. "Would it be so bad to just hear him out?"

"And go to Heaven?" Crowley demanded. "Aziraphale, it's undoubtedly a trap!"

"But they could really need help, Crowley," Aziraphale insisted, his better side winning out.

Crowley cursed and reached up to yank at his hair. "Angel, you've seen behind the curtain, you _know_ what Heaven is! You can't be so stupid as to think that 'forgive and forget' is going to work here."

"But if I don't at least see, I'm afraid the knowledge that I could have helped someone and didn't might haunt me forever!" Aziraphale said. "It might not be a bad thing that they point us in the right direction so we can get there in time."

Crowley groaned, pacing. "They're using you, angel!"

"And I'm pretty certain of that myself," Aziraphale assured him. "But, Crowley, I have to see for myself as well. I'm sorry, but I have to at least talk to them. Besides," he added. "If I don't go, then Gabriel will likely send someone here or pay a visit personally, and I would really rather not have that happen."

"I don't like this," Crowley growled. "I promise you're walking into a trap. And then what?"

"Then we'll just have to figure something out!" Aziraphale said as he stood. "It will be all right, dear."

Crowley didn't look at all convinced. Aziraphale didn't want to admit to just how much he agreed with him.

_~~~~~~~_

_Aziraphale wiped his palms_ on his coat, finding he was more nervous than he had anticipated about being in Heaven again. And he hadn't even personally been there for his trial. He wasn't sure what bothered him more: the thought that he had actually willingly come back or the thought that they apparently weren't done with him.

But the better part of him, which was sometimes possibly too much of a wishful thinker, knew there was a small chance that they might actually need his help. And he certainly wasn't above helping if it was urgent. He just wished he didn't have to see Gabriel while he was there. The archangel had made it perfectly clear that he didn't care if Aziraphale lived or died—permanently. And then, there had been the accident last week with the tree branch which had led Gabriel to lose his sword to a demon…He couldn't be happy about that.

Crowley definitely hadn't liked the thought of Aziraphale going to the meeting, convinced it was a trap, but Aziraphale was, perhaps against his better judgement, willing to give his former co-workers the benefit of the doubt. After all, he was still an angel, it was his job to help those in need. And if Heaven was in need, he would help them too, though a naughty part of him whispered that they didn't deserve it.

The angel he stumbled across first seemed surprised to see him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, almost suspicious.

"I was summoned," Aziraphale said, feeling even more self-conscious. "By Gabriel."

"Oh." She gave a sharp nod, but her eyes were shifty, interested. "He's in his office."

Aziraphale made his way toward the archangel's office and knocked on the door.

"Enter," came the businesslike reply.

Aziraphale went in and found the archangel sitting at his desk, playing with a fountain pen.

"Ah, Aziraphale, thanks for coming. Have a seat."

Aziraphale approached the desk and took the seat opposite the archangel, noticing that it was quite a bit lower than Gabriel's. He straightened as much as he could in compensation. Aziraphale cleared his throat.

"Why did you call me here?" he asked finally after a moment of obviously intentional silence, deciding it was best to get straight to business, wanting to make sure Gabriel was aware that was the only reason he was here.

"Ah, well, you see, Aziraphale, with you not working for us any more, we've been missing our ground team. I think that was made pretty clear with that little snafu last week."

Aziraphale pressed his lips together. So that was why he had been called in. Gabriel wanted to save face by having him do all the dirty work down on Earth so he didn't have to look like an idiot again.

"So, you're saying you want me back?" Aziraphale cut to the chase.

Gabriel's eyes blew wide, and he let out a sharp laugh. "Want you back? No, no, not anything that drastic. Most of the angels want you as far away from Heaven as possible, Aziraphale. They think you're bad luck, tainted. Don't want you to corrupt the rest of the flock."

Aziraphale narrowed his eyes at that one. Gabriel was one to talk. After he and Michael willingly worked with demons themselves—and to execute one of their own too.

"Whether we _want_ you or not is irrelevant. It appears we… underestimated your usefulness," Gabriel said carefully.

"So, what _do_ you want then?" Aziraphale demanded shortly, getting weary of this conversation already.

Gabriel put his elbows on the desk and leaned forward. "I want you to work directly for me. I send you missions that pop up on earth, and you get them done, and report to me directly. Save us both some time."

"And I suppose you take the credit," Aziraphale said, realizing what Gabriel's game was here.

Gabriel shrugged. "Well, you understand that because of the situation, you can't actually be on the payroll. You'd be more of an…independent contractor."

Aziraphale shifted in his seat, straightening his shoulders. "I'm doing my own thing now, Gabriel."

"And you could keep doing that," Gabriel assured him. "With added perks." Aziraphale cocked his head to one side and the archangel continued. "We know you're still performing unsanctioned miracles, but I'm sure you have realized that you don't have half the power you did when you were still working for us."

Aziraphale pressed his lips into a thin line. "Well, that is true, but I make do…"

"Make do?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Like you did with that car crash?"

Aziraphale felt a chill go up his spine, not only for the fact Gabriel had been keeping track of him, but also because that crash had been terrible. He and Crowley had done what they could, but they could only do so many miracles. Some people had still died because they couldn't get to them in time.

"And, well, you never know. Do a good job for long enough…I might just plead your case with the other angels. You could have your old job back. Officially."

There was a very small longing in Aziraphale for that, or at least for the ability to perform miracles like he used to be able to, to not be worried constantly about Heaven coming for him when they decided they no longer were content with just leaving him alone. But he had done all that before, and knew that it wouldn't be like that. They'd invite him back into the fold, but soon enough they would be controlling everything he did again, force him to break ties with Crowley, and only allow him to do jobs they thought he should do.

And Aziraphale knew enough to be sure that Gabriel was lying. He _could_ come back, but then what? They would do their best to brainwash him, control him, limit his ability to perform miracles to only the ones they wanted him to. And he and Crowley had been doing so many good things since they'd broken ties with their home offices. Helping with strange disturbances, as well as normal ones. Performing small miracles here and there when they could. They'd gotten used to being on their own side. He didn't want to give that up for the non-human equivalent of corporate prison.

So he drew a breath and looked Gabriel directly in the eye. "Thank you for the offer—it is most generous. But I'm afraid I cannot accept it."

He stood up decisively, feeling good about his decision, and started toward the door, when Gabriel was suddenly behind him, slamming a hand against the door before Aziraphale could open it, hemming the lesser angel in.

"Not so fast," the archangel said, steel in his voice. "You think I'm just going to let you walk out of here? No. You're not leaving until you agree to my terms."

"I'm sorry?" Aziraphale asked indignantly.

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear," Gabriel said coldly. "This isn't up for debate. You'll work for me or suffer the consequences."

"Get another angel to do your dirty work," Aziraphale said icily. "Or perhaps a demon. I'm not going to be your attack dog, and I know that's all you want me for."

Gabriel smiled, but there was no humor in it. "You always were too smart for your own good." He slammed a fist into Aziraphale's stomach and the lesser angel folded with a wheeze. Gabriel then threw him to the ground, kicking him several more times before hauling him back up and slamming him into the chair, hand around his throat. Aziraphale gripped his wrist, but it was iron and unmovable.

"Now, I can be very persuasive when I want to be," he growled. "Things are a mess since Armageddon didn't happen and I need someone to help me fix it."

"To make you look g-good, you mean?" Aziraphale choked out. "To-to save face."

Gabriel snarled, slamming a fist into his face. "The mess was all your fault anyway," he hissed. "It's only fair that you fix it, clean up your own mess. I'd just be taking the credit. Best not to let it go to waste. After all, no matter what you do, Heaven will never trust you again. So someone might as well benefit from the clean-up."

Aziraphale felt fury wash through him. Gabriel just didn't understand. He didn't do it for the glory, he did it because he genuinely wanted to help people. He certainly wouldn't let Gabriel take the credit for it. He lashed out, but Gabriel grabbed his wrist and twisted. Aziraphale cried out before the archangel's hand was over his mouth, cutting him off, fingers digging into his cheeks savagely.

"Shh. Don't want to alert the others that you're here."

Aziraphale fought again, harder. Not that he expected a lot of help from the other angels or even to have his word believed above Gabriel's but if he could alert them and plant even a suspicion of Gabriel's plan in their heads he would take that. Of course, making Gabriel lose face again would probably just make the archangel even more furious.

He kicked Gabriel in the knee and the archangel staggered back with a muttered curse. Aziraphale leapt up.

"He—!"

Gabriel's arm snaked around his throat and his hand slammed over his mouth again, cutting off his cry for help. He held Aziraphale tightly against his chest, and the lesser angel could practically feel the fury roiling through Gabriel.

"I wouldn't ruin this for me, if I were you," Gabriel snarled. "I've caught a lot of crap since you and your demon pal stopped the apocalypse. I have every reason to hate you and yet I offered you a job and your full powers back instead and you throw that in my face."

Aziraphale struggled in his grip, but Gabriel had his arms pinned to his sides and he was a lot stronger than Aziraphale.

"Now, here's how it's going to go. We're going to have a more informed chat, talk stakes, and then you're going to give me the answer I want to hear or you'll regret it."

Aziraphale grunted indignantly past Gabriel's hand. The archangel swiftly gripped the back of his head and slammed his face against the desk.

Aziraphale saw stars as he slid to the ground, feeling blood drip down his face. Gabriel was instantly crouching in front of him, hand clamped over his mouth again as Aziraphale parted his lips.

"Ah-ah," Gabriel chided. "Be a good little angel, and stay quiet."

Aziraphale mustered up everything he had to glower at Gabriel, murmuring something rude past his hand. Gabriel's eyes darkened and he dug his fingers into Aziraphale's cheeks hard enough to bruise.

"Now, let's talk, shall we? Or rather, _I'll_ talk, you stay quiet so we don't alert the others. The only thing I want to hear out of you is agreement."

He heaved Aziraphale up into a chair and snapped his fingers. Restraints appeared and wrapped around Aziraphale's arms and legs. A gag appeared in his mouth too. Aziraphale realized then there was little point to the conversation. Gabriel had been waiting for this for a long time, and no matter Aziraphale's answer, he was going to enjoy himself.

He still struggled though, tugging at the restraints for all the good it would do. Gabriel looked down at him with cruel satisfaction, and cracked his knuckles. "Now, about that offer…"

Aziraphale braced himself for what was to come. It seemed Crowley had been right after all. This had all been a setup and he had walked right into it.


	2. Chapter 2

Aziraphale would be lying if he were to say he was at all used to rough treatment. Yes, he had gotten into plenty of tough spots over the years, been wounded on multiple occasions, had his life threatened on countless others…but prolonged abuse—well, call it was it was, it was torture—was not something he was completely accustomed to. Heaven had always been more inclined to use the psychological when punishing their wayward soldiers—Aziraphale had found that out the hard way—not really the type to think getting their hands dirty was the best way of doing things. Gabriel on the other hand, seemed to thoroughly enjoy getting his hands dirty as Aziraphale discovered when the archangel just continued beating him when he refused to give him the answer he was looking for.

Gabriel finally paused, wiping some of Aziraphale's blood off of his knuckles. Aziraphale let his head hang between his shoulders, his body aching from the beating he had taken. His breath whistled through his injured nose and he let out a small moan.

"I just don't understand, Aziraphale," Gabriel was saying. "You really have nothing to lose by accepting my offer. I wouldn't have to do this if you weren't so stubborn."

_I have everything to lose_ , Aziraphale thought to himself, but he didn't say any of that out loud.

Gabriel reached out and grabbed a fistful of his curls, pulling his head back up so Aziraphale was forced to look at him.

"I mean, what exactly are you trying to prove here?" Gabriel demanded. "Because if you think I'm going to tire of this and simply let you go, that's not going to happen. I have a lot of patience."

Aziraphale didn't think that was entirely true, but he still didn't say anything.

Gabriel sighed in frustration, proving his point, but didn't get to say what he was going to as footsteps could be heard outside in the hall.

Gabriel glanced over his shoulder as Aziraphale stiffened, then the archangel whipped back around to him, pulling a silvery dagger from inside his coat and pressing it to Aziraphale's throat.

"Not a word," he hissed and snapped his fingers. The restraints fell away and Gabriel dragged Aziraphale around the desk and shoved him under it before he sat down, holding the dagger in his lap.

A knock came on the door and Aziraphale inhaled sharply, before Gabriel slammed a hand over his mouth, pressing Aziraphale's split lip painfully against his teeth.

"Stay quiet," he muttered, then loudly. "Come!"

Aziraphale flinched as he heard the door open and footsteps enter the office. He was crushed into the small space under Gabriel's desk, with the archangel's knees hemming him in and his hand clenched threateningly against his mouth.

"What do you want?" Gabriel asked shortly.

"Um, Michael said there was a debriefing, sir," the angel replied. "You set it up yesterday?"

Aziraphale eyed the dagger sitting on Gabriel's lap, wondering if he would have a chance to grab it, use it against Gabriel and get out. Or if he could chance making a noise, hitting the side of the desk or something. But there was no guarantee that the angel would actually help him. Gabriel seemed to sense his posturing and firmly stomped down on one of his hands. Aziraphale let out a sharp exhale and Gabriel pressed his hand threateningly against his mouth. Aziraphale briefly wondered what would happen if he simply bit Gabriel.

"Yes, yes, fine," Gabriel said shortly. "Tell her I'll be there in a minute. I just have to finish something up first."

Aziraphale decided to make his move. He shifted and knocked his toe against the side of the desk. For a brief moment the angel paused, and Aziraphale held his breath as Gabriel's fingernails dug into his cheeks, but then Gabriel commanded, "Go!" and the angel retreated, the door closing behind her.

Gabriel slid his chair back and yanked Aziraphale from under the desk, his face a mask of fury. He slammed Aziraphale's head into his knee hard, then threw him to the ground before kicking him so hard the angel felt ribs crack. Aziraphale let out a squeal of pain before Gabriel was on top of him, a hand over his mouth again, knee pressing into his burning ribs.

"You think I'm playing? I've got a lot riding on my success these next few months, and I'll be damned before I let you screw it up. If you don't learn to cooperate soon, I will find a way to _make_ you and I think you'll like that even less. How would you like us to lock up your demon pal, eh? If it were up to me, I'd strap him down, fix up a slow drip of holy water, a constant agony that would take years to kill him. I personally don't buy that you two are immune. I know you tricked us somehow, and there's more than one way to find out if I'm right. So, if you don't want me to pay the demon Crowley a visit, then, well, you had best think about what your best course of action will be."

Aziraphale whimpered and tried to shift so that Gabriel wasn't putting more pressure on his ribs, but the archangel simply slapped him across the face. "And shut. The Hell. Up." He growled. He materialized a length of cloth and bound it tightly across Aziraphale's mouth, cutting into his cheeks. He stood and yanked Aziraphale up and snapped his fingers, binding his hands behind his back before he dragged him toward a closet on one side of the office. He opened the door and shoved Aziraphale inside.

"Remember, if you even think of calling for help, I'll make you and your demonic friend regret it."

Aziraphale mustered a glower, before Gabriel slammed the door shut and locked it, then walked out the door of the office and slammed that too.

Aziraphale curled into himself, trying to breathe shallowly so as not to agitate his injuries too much, then slumped against the wall in the tight space that was mostly full of suit coats and file boxes.

How on earth was he going to get out of this one?

_~~~~~~~_

_Crowley gave Aziraphale_ twenty-four hours.

When the angel didn't show up back at the bookshop having either decided to accept Heaven's request—in which case they would then make whatever mission was given their next priority—or denied it complete—in which case they would open a bottle of wine and put Heaven and Hell a little further behind them—that only left the third option. In which case, Crowley was planning to storm Heaven. Well, more precisely to _sneak into_ Heaven, but the result would be the same; saving his stupid friend from whatever Aziraphale had willingly walked into like the idiot he sometimes had the bad habit of being.

Part of Crowley still hoped it was just some conference meeting run long; angels had no concept of time, after all. But the more logical part of him, the part that had _warned_ Aziraphale beforehand, knew that it had been a trap all along, and his friend was probably in a lot of trouble.

He went back to his own apartment to prepare. Getting into Heaven was not easy for demons, but Crowley had learned a few tricks—after grilling Aziraphale, mostly for this reason. He'd gotten in only once before a while ago when Aziraphale had been dragged back for unfair punishment. He'd been gone for months that time and Crowley had searched the world over for him, wondering why Aziraphale had simply dropped off the face of the earth. What made him sick, even now, was that back then, if they hadn't agreed to meet the weekend after Aziraphale disappeared, he never would have known until the next time he sought out the angel for part of their Arrangement. Sometimes they went years, even decades without seeing each other. He never would have forgiven himself back then if Aziraphale had been left in that tiny cell for years. It had taken a good bit for the angel to recover from that. Which is why now, he didn't even want Aziraphale to suffer whatever Gabriel and Heaven had planned for him for even more than a day.

They had anticipated something like this happening to either of them, hence the reason they had exchanged information about back ways into Heaven or Hell. Now he was incredibly glad they had.

So, no, getting into Heaven wasn't the problem. Finding Aziraphale and getting him back out was.

The last time he's found him in a cell in what Heaven had passed as a prison. Was he there again? But why?

He grabbed what he needed, shoving it into his pockets—things for every contingency he might run into—and raced back downstairs to the street where he had parked his car.

Hastur was leaning against it, waiting for him.

Crowley came to a halt. "What the Heaven do you want?" he demanded. He did not have time for this.

Hastur ran a dirty hand over the fender making Crowley grit his teeth. "I hear you're causing trouble, Crowley."

Crowley clenched his hands at his sides. "Yeah, and I don't work for Hell anymore, didn't you guys get my resignation letter? Now if you'll excuse me, I really don't have time for this…"

He tried to circle around to the driver's side but Hastur reached out and pressed a hand against his chest, keeping him in place.

"Get out of my way, Hastur," Crowley growled.

Hastur gripped Crowley by the lapels so he stayed put. "You and that angel have become quite the nuisance. The boys are getting a little tired of you always showing up and…thwarting them."

Crowley rolled his eyes. "Well, get used to it, because it's not stopping any time soon." He jerked away and snapped his fingers to start the engine as he opened the driver's side door of the Bentley.

"That's not what I heard," Hastur called after him. "I heard they want the angel back Upstairs and they're willing to do anything to get that to happen."

Crowley paused, hating himself as he did so. "What does that mean?" he demanded.

Hastur shrugged. "Can't tell for certain. I only heard they were trying to track you down. Probably either want to recruit you or, you know, use you as bait or incentive to get the angel to cooperate. Seeing as you two are so friendly and all."

Crowley felt a sudden unease wash over him as he stared across the Bentley's bonnet at Hastur. "Did they send you to nab me?" he demanded.

Hastur grinned, but shook his head. "Nah. Just thought I'd give you a friendly warning. We have enough over them now that they grabbed one of their swords. Heard they're not happy with that. We were told, however, that if you two proved to be too much trouble, we would dispose of you. Make sure the angels and their hands stay lily white."

"Get out of here, Hastur," Crowley growled and got into the car, slamming the door.

"Watch your back, Crowley," Hastur called mockingly as Crowley slammed his foot into the pedal and got out of there as fast as he could.

What the heaven was he supposed to make of that? Crowley wasn't surprised that there was a contingency plan to take him and Aziraphale out, he knew their independence probably wouldn't last forever, and yet they had hoped that they would have been able to figure something out before it came to that. Now though, it seemed like everything was happening at once and he didn't even have the angel to help him come up with some clever plan.

Crowley tried to calm himself down. The first step was getting Aziraphale out of Heaven and whatever situation he was stuck in. Then they could figure out a way to keep Heaven and Hell off their backs for at least a little bit longer. Until they could find a more permanent solution.

Crowley parked his Bentley on the side of the street near the spot where the back door to Heaven was located. It was actually not too far from where the main entrance was, in fact it was in the same building. It was just in a broom closet. All you had to do was know where to look, and, boom, instant stairway to Heaven.

That also, as it turned out, led to a broom closet, or, the closest thing Heaven had to one.

He listened at the door then peeked out to make sure no one was around to see a demon just strolling into Heaven, and when he saw the coast was clear, he slipped out the door and closed it behind him.

Time to find his unfortunate friend.

_~~~~~~~_

_Aziraphale didn't know_ how long he was stuck in that closet but the longer he was there, the more he noticed the dark and the smallness of the space. The gag only made it worse, not to mention the pain in his chest whenever he took a breath. It reminded him too much of his previous imprisonment in Heaven. A small cell they had kept him in for months. The only reason he hadn't gone insane was because Crowley had eventually found him and stayed with him in snake form until the end of his 'sentence'.

He wasn't entirely sure what was worse, the isolation or Gabriel's beatings.

Eventually though, the archangel came back in and Aziraphale let out a thump from the closet, which Gabriel threw open, letting in light to pierce Aziraphale's eyes.

"I told you to stay quiet!" Gabriel hissed as he loomed in the doorway. "There's angels out in the hallway."

Aziraphale tried to put on a defiant look, and glanced toward the wall that led to the outside hallway. He wondered if anyone would be able to hear him, or even bother to notice something was wrong if he started banging on it.

As if understanding what he was thinking, Gabriel ducked into the closet and grabbed hold of him, dragging him out where Aziraphale slumped against the wall.

"How many times am I going to have to tell you to stay quiet?" Gabriel hissed, kicking Aziraphale in the hip which jarred all of his injuries, making him wince.

Maybe if he stopped hitting him, Aziraphale wouldn't try to make noise.

"Have you thought more about my offer?" Gabriel asked.

Aziraphale simply looked at the ground. Gabriel reached down and grabbed his hair, forcing him to look up. "Well?" he hissed.

The lesser angel shook his head slowly, and Gabriel dropped him with frustration. He reached into his coat and pulled out his knife. Aziraphale's stomach twisted and his eyes widened. Gabriel seemed to enjoy seeing him like that.

"I just don't understand," he said, more to himself than to Aziraphale. "After I offer you a good job, and an opportunity to get your full powers back, and someday possibly your former position… all you do is throw it in my face." He leaned over and grabbed Aziraphale by the chin, pressing the deadly tip of the dagger to the corner of his eye. Aziraphale held his breath.

"You humiliate me and then you refuse to offer reparation," he growled. "And you expect me to just let you walk out of my office, so defiant." He pressed with the knife and blood beaded up around the tip of the blade. Aziraphale flinched.

"It's just disgusting how far you've fallen. You should thank me for trying to pick you back up. You're not worth saving." He slashed the blade down Aziraphale's face and the angel whimpered, ducking his head as much as possible as the cut stung.

"So, what's the answer going to be?" he asked, leaning down close to Aziraphale, getting into his personal space.

Aziraphale simply looked away, trying to fight against the shudders that wanted to wrack him. He knew it was going to get a lot worse really soon.

Gabriel sighed. "Okay, how about this? I go find the demon Crowley, bring him up here and do exactly what I promised. Then I'll find as much reason as I can to present to the other angels about how you and Crowley are plotting against all of us."

Aziraphale shook his head. But he really didn't know what he was going to do. He had nothing to bargain with. The only way he was getting out of here was if he somehow could alert the other angels about what Gabriel was planning, and hope that they thought that was even something to be frowned upon.

It wasn't ideal but it might be the only option he had.

He heard footsteps crossing out in the hall, and decided it was now or never. He made as loud a noise past his gag as he could. If only for a couple minutes distraction…

Gabriel went livid.

He backhanded Aziraphale, cutting off his cry, before he grabbed him around the throat and stuck his dagger past the gag into Aziraphale's mouth, pressing the deadly tip against his tongue. Aziraphale gagged as it slid dangerously toward the back of his throat.

"If you don't stay quiet, I will cut out your tongue," Gabriel hissed.

The footsteps stopped and they both froze. Aziraphale's eyes locked onto Gabriel's. There was a knock on the door and Gabriel cursed under his breath.

He shoved Aziraphale back into the closet with a motion of the dagger. "Stay quiet." He hissed, and snapped his fingers to lock Aziraphale back in place.

Then he crossed to the door and opened it. Aziraphale's heart was pounding so much in his ears that he couldn't hear what the angel said, just Gabriel's furious reply. "Well, do it! I don't have time for this!"

Then more mumbled, apologetic words from the angel before Gabriel huffed. "Very well." He slammed the door and Aziraphale was left alone once again. He slumped in the closet, no longer able to keep his trembling at bay. He pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth, still feeling Gabriel's dagger there, and trembled some more. He needed to find a way to get out of this and quickly. He just didn't know how he was going to go about that.

_~~~~~~~_

_Crowley crept through_ the stark white halls of Heaven, sticking out like a sore thumb. The problem with Heaven was that it seemed almost purposefully designed to have everything out in the open. It was not for skulking or hiding in the shadows. You could stay in Hell for a month probably without detection if you knew where to go.

He hadn't gotten more than a couple turns down a hallway before he had to hide quickly as he heard voices. He sneered as he pressed himself against the wall, hoping no one else would come around the other way until his line was clear. It was that bastard Gabriel.

"Well, do it! I don't have time for this!" the archangel was saying. Just hearing his voice made Crowley want to punch the angel in his stupid face.

"But sir, we need you to oversee it," another angel said.

Gabriel heaved a huge sigh. "Very well." A door slammed and footsteps came closer. Crowley pressed himself against the wall, willing them not to see him, but the two angels continued on their way, none the wiser about their intruder. Crowley relaxed after they had passed and turned down that hallway, heading down the line.

It looked like Gabriel's office was down there. Maybe there was a clue there about where Aziraphale was, and if not, maybe there was something Crowley could pick up that would give him dirt on Gabriel, something he could use as a bargaining chip if it came to that.

He slipped past several doors until he got to the one that had Gabriel's name on it in gilded letters. The door was locked and warded, but only against miracles or other things. Crowley had long ago versed himself in the human form of lock-picking. You never knew when it could come in handy. He jimmied the lock and opened the door.

It was actually rather more underwhelming than he would have thought. Big enough, but not even with a window. White desk and walls, a stack of file cabinets and a closet. He went to the desk first and riffled through the papers there but didn't find anything really worth stealing. But then, even Gabriel probably wasn't stupid enough to leave something incriminating out in plain sight. Where _would_ he hide it then?

He glanced around the room at the sparse furnishing and his eyes narrowed on the closet.

Gabriel was definitely the type to have a few skeletons in one.

That was when he heard a shuffling from inside.

Crowley froze, worried for a second that someone had set a trap, but then that seemed ridiculous. No, if someone was in there, that left only one other explanation…But it couldn't be. Why would Gabriel put Aziraphale in a cupboard?

He strode cautiously over to the closet and tried the door. It was locked too, but he simply snapped this one open, peering inside.

There was a little sound of surprise and something moved. It didn't take Crowley's eyes time to adjust to the darkness, he just had to push aside some of the suit coats hanging in there to reveal his friend.

"Aziraphale?" Crowley almost demanded, crouching and crawling into the closet to better see the angel. His hands were manacled and were locked through the drawer handle of an old file cabinet back in one corner and, worse, his face was covered in blood. Crowley saw red as he reached out to loosen the gag around Aziraphale's mouth.

The angel flinched, back.

"Angel, it's me," Crowley said. "It's just me."

Aziraphale's eyes finally widened and he looked at Crowley for the first time instead of through him. A very soft sound escaped his throat and Crowley removed his gag as gently as possible, furious with how much blood had soaked into it from abrasions on his face.

"C-rowley?" it was barely a whisper.

"I'm here, angel," Crowley said, cupping his face for a brief moment before he turned to the manacles.

Those proved more difficult as they were spelled, obviously, otherwise Aziraphale would have been able to get out of them himself.

"Gabriel…ha-has the key," Aziraphale said, voice still soft and hesitant.

Crowley frowned, but he pulled out his lock picks again and within a few seconds he had snapped the cuffs open and was careful to remove them from around Aziraphale's wrists, noticing some bruises starting there.

"Come on, let's go," he said, tossing the cuffs to one side. "Don't know how long Gabriel will be gone."

He hauled Aziraphale to his feet and the angel inhaled sharply, face scrunching in pain as one arm curled protectively around his ribs. Crowley felt fresh rage wash over him, but he would worry about that later. He just needed to get them out of here first.

They made their way back down the hallway and toward the broom closet where Crowley had gotten in. He was mostly supporting the angel, and that would prove a problem if they needed to move fast.

And it seemed that would be put to the test.

Footsteps approached, and Crowley recognized the gait as Gabriel's. He hissed a curse as they came closer.

"Crowley, what—" Aziraphale started before Crowley frantically shoved him back around the corner, a hand pressed over his mouth. Aziraphale nearly flinched away from him.

"Shh, stay quiet," Crowley hissed.

Aziraphale froze, but not in a good way.

Crowley felt his rigidity and looked up at him. The angel's eyes were glazed and his pulse had quickened. It was then that Crowley noticed the bruises in the same place his fingers pressed against Aziraphale's cheeks, though from a hand meatier than his slim one. He'd originally thought those bruises had been from the gag, but now he recognized them for what they really were. And he knew exactly why the angel had reacted in that way.

_Shit_ , he cursed silently and quickly pulled his hand away, taking Aziraphale's face gently between his palms instead. "I'm sorry, angel," he whispered. "I didn't mean it, you know I didn't. Not like that."

Aziraphale looked away, lips clamped tight. They waited until the footsteps receded again. They only had a moment to escape before Gabriel realized Aziraphale wasn't there and as much as Crowley wanted to reconcile what had just happened, they didn't have the time.

"Let's go," he said and hauled Aziraphale toward the exit.

They slipped through just as they heard the distant sound of Gabriel crying out in anger.

They were back in London before they knew it, and Aziraphale collapsed against Crowley, clutching at his coat, a few errant tears, seemingly of gratitude, slipping from his eyes.

"Come on, angel, let's get out of here," Crowley murmured and helped him into the waiting Bentley.

He made the decision halfway back to Soho, that the bookshop might not be the safest place. Gabriel knew that's where Aziraphale would go, and as much as he knew Aziraphale would want to be home right, now Crowley was certain he would be safer at his own place.

Well, providing the angels didn't make some deal to send Hastur out on a hit.

There were no good options but Gabriel was their immediate problem, so Crowley decided to go with the solution that would keep him away the longest.

"I'm taking you to my place, angel," he said to the slumped figure in the passenger seat. "Just for a little while. In case Gabriel tries to look for you at the bookshop."

Aziraphale said nothing and continued in the same vein all the way to Crowley's flat.

Once they got there Crowley helped Aziraphale to the huge pristine bathroom that he never used and sat him on a stool by the sink and started to run warm water, wetting a cloth to begin cleaning Aziraphale's face.

The angel flinched as Crowley first went to the worst wound, the long cut down his cheek that had obviously been made by a knife. Crowley performed a small miracle so that it would heal quickly. Most of the other blood, he found had come from Aziraphale's nose and a cut above his right eyebrow.

He tossed the bloody cloth back in the sink, and glanced critically at the angel's hunched posture. "Your ribs?"

Aziraphale nodded.

"Let me see," Crowley coaxed.

Aziraphale tried to reach up and unbutton his cardigan and shirt, but his hands were shaking. Crowley gently pushed them aside to do it for him, loosening Aziraphale's bowtie first, then swiftly reaching for the buttons, noticing all too well the blood that had decorated Aziraphale's clothing. He'd be furious about that probably if he wasn't so traumatized. Crowley would have to fix that for him later.

The last thing he was thinking about was blood stains when he opened Aziraphale's shirt and saw the deep purple bruises all down one side, and across his stomach. He hissed and gently touched the spot on the angel's ribcage that was black and deep red in color. Aziraphale let out a breathy sound of pain, but Crowley performed a small healing miracle. He gritted his teeth as he did as much as he could. It wasn't as easy healing angels as it was for him to heal humans. Miracles didn't work toward other non-humans very effectively, but the bruising turned less vibrant and Crowley heard a marked difference in Aziraphale's breathing so that was better than nothing.

"That everything?" he asked.

Aziraphale nodded, still not saying anything. Crowley pressed his lips together, hating the silence and worried he had caused it by accidently doing the exact same thing Gabriel had done to his friend.

"Come on," he said and helped Aziraphale up, leading him to his bedroom. He knew Aziraphale wasn't much for sleeping, but the angel looked like he needed some rest.

He sat Aziraphale down on the side of the bed and, remembering the blood on his clothes, he went to his closet and pulled out a set of pajamas, which he miracled to Aziraphale's size before setting them beside him.

"Here, these will be more comfortable. I'm going to go make you some tea."

Aziraphale still didn't say anything and Crowley hurried to the kitchen to make the promised tea, really wishing he could just get drunk. But considering they had angels and possibly demons who would be looking for them, that didn't seem like a good idea.

When he got back to the room, he found that at least Aziraphale had changed into the pajamas, even though he still looked a little distant. Crowley put the tea on the side table and nodded to the bed, pulling down the covers.

"Get in. You should rest."

Aziraphale hugged himself for a long moment, hesitating, before he climbed carefully into the bed. Crowley pulled the blanket over his lap and set his mug of tea into his hands. The angel looked so lost and Crowley felt a wave of helplessness and anger wash through him.

"Aziraphale, you can speak—please. Talk to me," he nearly pleaded.

Aziraphale took a shaky sip of his tea, and Crowley noticed him wince at his split lip that had likely gotten smashed against his teeth.

It took a long moment before he actually did speak. "He didn't want the other angels to know he had me there," Aziraphale said simply. He didn't explain and he didn't have to. Crowley knew exactly what he meant.

The demon refrained from throwing something but only barely. The only thing that kept him from doing so was because nothing in the shop was Gabriel.

Instead, he sat on the side of the bed, fighting back his anger. That wouldn't help his friend right now. He reached out and settled a hand on Aziraphale's knee covered by the blankets, thinking maybe a little psychical contact would help ground the angel. "Next time, will you listen to me when I tell you something is probably a trap?" he pleaded.

Aziraphale looked away, fingers tightening around the mug, before he sipped more tea. "I just wanted to help," he whispered.

Crowley's stupid heart broke. How dare Gabriel make his angel feel like rubbish? Especially when Aziraphale was one of the only truly _good_ angels Heaven had to offer. Crowley vowed that the next time he saw Gabriel, he was going to beat the prick's face in with a brick. Or maybe with the tyre iron from his Bentley.

"You already help, angel," Crowley assured him, reaching out and gripping his friend's shoulder gently. "We both do. And we don't need Heaven or Hell to tell us how to do it either."

Aziraphale forced a small, wavering smile, but he looked up to meet Crowley's eyes. "Yes. Yes, I suppose we do." He set his tea aside, only half drunk. "I am rather weary after all, my dear, I think I'm going to try to rest."

Crowley nodded, helped adjust the blankets over his friend as the angel lay down and closed his eyes.

Crowley sat there for a long time as he watched Aziraphale relax slightly, some of the pain easing from his face and his breathing even out in sleep.

When he was sure Aziraphale was deeply asleep, he reached out and touched the angel's cheek, miracling away the bruises Gabriel had left because he knew that if he kept looking at them, he would just get more and more furious until he stormed back into Heaven and beat the archangel to a pulp.

Instead, he kept vigil by his friend's side, listening for any sign of intruders, while he tried to think of how they were going to get out of this situation.


	3. Chapter 3

Aziraphale woke without having realized he had fallen asleep. He was not used to sleeping and he felt strange, wondering exactly how much time had passed. His body ached, though not as much as it had before. For a brief moment, when he realized he wasn't in his shop, he felt a slight panic, but then he caught sight of Crowley stepping into his line of vision, and he remembered that the demon had taken him to his flat because Gabriel didn't know where it was.

"Aziraphale?" Crowley asked, concern in his voice.

Aziraphale took a deep inhalation of breath and wet his lips. "I—I'm awake." His voice was hoarse and quiet even to his own ears. Crowley frowned and left, coming back a few seconds later with a glass of water. Aziraphale drank some gratefully.

"How long have I been asleep?" he asked hesitantly.

"Few hours," Crowley replied.

"Has anything…happened?"

Crowley shook his head, though he seemed restless. "No. But we need to talk about plans of action. I've been thinking."

Aziraphale sat against the pillows, hands twisted in the covers over his lap as he listened to Crowley.

"So, Gabriel's pissed because of losing his sword and looking like an idiot," Crowley stated. "He's been sort of a screw-up lately, which is why he wanted you back."

Aziraphale shuddered slightly at that thought and Crowley paused before he continued more cautiously.

"We need a way to make him lose face with the other angels even more. Something that will tell him he really shouldn't mess with us or we'll just make his life miserable."

"Crowley, I don't…" Aziraphale started but the demon sat on the bed, leaning forward to appeal to him.

"Now, listen, angel. I have an idea, and before I tell you what it is, I want to know—do you trust me?"

Aziraphale looked up at Crowley, the demon wasn't wearing his glasses so Aziraphale could see his eyes, wide and earnest.

"Of course I trust you, dear," he said sincerely.

Crowley looked a little bit relieved, before he shifted uncomfortably. "Okay, because, I don't think you're going to like this plan much…"

Aziraphale listened to his plan, feeling himself go more and more pale as each new facet of it was revealed, but he nodded in agreement. It was better than any plan he had tried to think of when he was locked up in Gabriel's closet.

When Crowley had finished, Aziraphale excused himself and went into the bathroom to splash water on his face, trying to calm himself. He glanced in the mirror and noticed with some surprise that most of the bruises on his face were gone and the cut on his cheek was mostly healed. He had either healed while he slept or Crowley had helped out, for which he was grateful.

He found his clothes, which Crowley must have cleaned the blood off of. He changed, feeling a little steadier by the time Crowley found him again with a fresh cup of tea.

"You really think this will work?" Aziraphale asked him hesitantly as he sipped his tea.

"I don't think we really have another choice," Crowley told him truthfully, then reached out to squeeze Aziraphale's shoulder gently. "But we'll succeed, angel. And go back to being ourselves again. Helping people."

Aziraphale nodded, trying to find some of Crowley's confidence. "Yes. Yes, we will."

_~~~~~~~_

_Crowley locked and warded_ his flat before he left Aziraphale there. He didn't feel good about leaving the angel alone, but if all went well he shouldn't be too long, and there was no way Aziraphale could come with him.

He was not looking forward to Part One of his plan. Well, to be fair, he wasn't really looking forward to any part of his plan, but Part One was going to prove the most difficult.

Especially as seeing how it involved going to Hell.

Crowley had always hated Hell, which is why he tried his level best to spend as much time on Earth as possible. That being said, it was probably one of the easiest places to steal from or get away with anything, which was sort of ironic seeing as they were all about punishment down there.

But that came in handy when you were looking to steal something, and that was what Crowley was planning on doing. It was easier than he thought, considering Gabriel's archangel sword was just sitting in the armory with all the infernal weapons.

It stuck out like a sore thumb since the blade had a Heavenly glow about it. Crowley took cloth and twine out of his bag and wrapped and bound it before slinging it over his shoulder and heading back out cautiously.

He had to plaster himself against the wall as he heard voices coming his way, and worse, the telltale sound of large hellhound claws clacking across the floor.

"Are you sure you saw something?"

"Yeah, I did. No one's supposed to go into the armory without permission."

Crowley cursed under his breath. The last thing he needed was to get on the wrong side of a hellhound. He looked around for another way out and saw another demon walking down the corridor.

Hastur.

"Shit," Crowley whispered to himself before slipping back into the armory. He would rather not choose between an angry hellhound and Hastur. He wasn't sure which would be worse.

"What's going on?" Hastur asked the other demons.

"We thought we saw someone in the armory."

Hastur growled and Crowley hurried to find a place to hide as he heard their footsteps stop outside the door. He heard the hellhound sniffing, then scratching at the door and he felt a cold sweat break out all over his body.

"Well, get in there and look!" Hastur demanded.

Crowley quickly shucked the sword from around his shoulders, stowing it behind a weapons rack, then as quickly as he could, changed into his snake form and crawled up the rack of weaponry before slipping into a crack high on the wall where hopefully he would escape the notice of the hellhound and the other demons.

The door swung open just as he got settled and he kept as still as possible. The hellhound sniffed around, growling low in his throat. Crowley closed his eyes as Hastur looked around.

"Well, no one's in here now," he grunted, turning to the other demons. "Are you sure you weren't just seeing things?"

"I swear someone went in here!" one of the other demons protested, then he looked around. "Wait…that shiny angel sword…it's not here!"

Hastur growled, sounding a lot like the hellhound. "Go! He couldn't have gone far! Tell the guards no one gets out of Hell!" He clenched his fists. "Crowley," he snarled like a curse.

They stormed off and Crowley swiftly extricated himself from his crack and leapt to the ground in his human form. He grabbed the sword, slung it over his back and dashed out.

"Hey!" a demon shouted as he sped past him down the hall, at this point caring less about if he were seen and more about just getting out of Hell before Hastur had all the gates blocked off.

"Can't stop!" Crowley called back cheerily.

He hurried to the back door, and heard hellhounds growling behind him in the hallway.

"He went that way!" someone said far away.

"Stop him!" Crowley heard Hastur scream.

A demon guard sprung out in front of Crowley and he swung the wrapped sword around and clobbered the demon with it as he ran past.

"Crowley!" Hastur shouted out behind him. "If you don't come back here now, I'll tear you apart personally when I finally get a hold of you!"

Crowley turned just in time to see Hastur surging down the hall with the other demons and several hellhounds, then he pushed through the door and sprinted out of Hell.

He ran all the way to his car, panting, then drove back to his flat in record time, even for him.

Aziraphale startled when he burst into the flat, waving the sword. "Got it!"

Aziraphale looked relieved, but he clenched his hands in his lap. "That's good, but… we still have to convince Gabriel of his own mistake."

"And we will," Crowley assured him then sobered. "Are you ready?"

Aziraphale sighed. "No. But…we have to do this."

Crowley swallowed hard, hating that his plan involved this next step, but also knowing it was really the only way that they were going to convince the other angels that Gabriel was the one bluffing.

Crowley grabbed what they would need, handed the sword to Aziraphale, and the two of them went back out to the Bentley and drove to the gates of Heaven again.

They took the back way same as before, and Crowley peeked out to make sure the coast was clear then they crept out and toward the offices.

"What if he's in there?" Aziraphale asked suddenly, whispering, as he clutched the sword tightly.

Even as he said it, the door to Gabriel's office started to open and Crowley grabbed Aziraphale and hid them out of sight. Gabriel strode out of his office and Crowley breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was lucky. Okay, let's go we may not have much time."

They hurried down the hall and slipped into the office. Aziraphale hesitated as soon as he got inside, and Crowley turned to him, his heart hurting for his friend.

"Aziraphale, you don't have to do this if you don't want to," Crowley told him gently. "I know how hard it must be. We can figure out something else…"

"No," Aziraphale said, pressing his lips together firmly. "No, this is the best course of action. I don't like it, but I have confidence it will work." He tried to smile a little. "I will look forward to seeing the look on Gabriel's face."

Crowley huffed but had to agree. "All right." He led the angel over to the closet and opened the door. It wasn't warded this time. He shoved several suit jackets out of the way and stepped aside for Aziraphale to get in. He reluctantly pulled a pair of cuffs out of his pocket.

"Remember, these aren't sigiled so if you really need to get out, you'll be able to," the demon reminded.

"I know. I trust you, Crowley. I told you that," Aziraphale said but he sounded small, unsure. Crowley felt slightly sick as he helped the angel sit and loosely locked the manacles around his wrists securing him like Gabriel had done.

"Alright, that's that then," Crowley said, straightening up.

"Crowley," Aziraphale said hesitantly. "You—you'll need to gag me. To sell it."

The demon felt his stomach twist again and he swallowed hard. "Angel…"

"It's all right," Aziraphale said, trying to look brave but Crowley could see him trembling. He didn't know how he was going to close that door if he put Aziraphale back into the same position Gabriel had left him in. The only comfort was that he was doing this to save them both.

So, swiftly, before he could think about it again, he pulled a strip of cloth out of his coat and bound it firmly but not too tight across Aziraphale's mouth.

"I promise I'll get you out of here, Aziraphale," he told his friend before he forced himself to his feet and closed the closet door.

He grabbed the sword and left the office, hating himself in that moment for leaving his friend behind and helpless.

He was going to finish this once and for all.

_~~~~~~~_

_Demons typically didn't_ just waltz into Heaven, which is why Crowley was met with shocked looks instead of attack when he strode up from the main entrance as if he belonged there.

"Hey, I'm looking for Gabriel, is he around?"

The angels all looked to each other, as if none of them were sure what to do.

"Um, what are you doing here?" one finally demanded.

Crowley gestured to the bundle he was carrying. "Uh…I…Gabriel told me to come. He has my payment waiting."

"Payment?" one of the other angels sneered. "What could Gabriel be wanting with paying a demon?"

"Maybe you should ask him," Crowley smirked. "Can you get him for me, I'm a little tight on time right now…" He tapped his watch in emphasis.

The angel hissed to another. "Go get Gabriel, we'll make sure he doesn't leave."

Crowley waited awkwardly as the angels watched him like a hawk, hemming him in like he would all of a sudden dash off into Heaven and they would have to spend the rest of the day rousting him out like an unwanted rodent.

"What's going on?"

Crowley looked up to see Gabriel and Michael pushing through the gathered angels, both stopped in their tracks as they saw Crowley there.

"Gabriel, good to see you, mate, I got what you asked for!"

Gabriel stood there as all the angels turned to stare at him, folding his arms across his chest. "I didn't ask for anything from you."

Crowley raised an eyebrow. "No? Oh! Oh I see," He glanced pointedly around at the other angels. "You want to talk in _private_. My bad."

"Gabriel, what is this demon talking about?" Michael demanded.

"Nothing! I have no idea what he's talking about," Gabriel scoffed. "I have nothing to hide. Speak here, hellspawn."

Crowley shrugged. "Okay, then. Well, here's the sword you hired me to get back for you…" He unwrapped the archangel sword and there was a gasp from the gathered angels. "Safe and sound as promised."

Everyone was looking at Gabriel again and this time the archangel was actually speechless.

"Gabriel, you hired a demon?" Michael demanded. "I thought you said you were working on a trade…something to put us a little further from war with the demons."

"I was, this isn't…" Gabriel began, but Crowley cut in.

"Oh, the trade? Yeah, there is one, but not with the demons, with me," Crowley said. "See, your boss here, he wanted to bring in your old pal Aziraphale to help with human relations and all that while he took the credit for missions on Earth that Aziraphale would actually be doing for him. Aziraphale didn't want to, so Gabriel decided he wasn't going to let him leave Heaven until he got the answer he wanted. Now me, I actually care about my new business partner, so I brokered a deal with Gabriel: I get his sword back and Aziraphale goes free. He still saves face. Or…well, he would have if I hadn't just let the cat out of the bag."

Gabriel's face was red with fury. "That's not… None of that is true!"

"Isn't it?" Crowley asked, raising an eyebrow and sliding his glasses down to give Gabriel a dangerous look. "Because I don't think anyone here believes that. Why else would I, a demon, be standing here now, with _your_ sword? Now, I'm willing to give this back in good faith but you need to make good on your end of the bargain."

"Aziraphale is not in Heaven!" Gabriel shouted.

"Well, if he's not, we're going to have a problem," Crowley said, clutching the sword. "Where would you keep him, Gabriel? You wouldn't want the others to know, would you? So probably not in the prisons—and yeah, I know you lot have prisons here. So, where would he be? In your office maybe?"

"This is insane," Gabriel growled and motioned for guards. "Get him out of here!"

"Not until I see your office," Crowley demanded, raising the sword and brandishing it at the reluctantly approaching guards.

Michael stepped forward. "Actually, why not?"

"Michael," Gabriel hissed. "You don't believe me?"

She lowered her brows. "I want to see this done. We know how much of a thorn in the side this demon can be so I would rather have all avenues thoroughly checked. And he did bring back your sword."

"Thank you!" Crowley appealed to her and she lifted a lip in disgust.

Gabriel folded his arms across his chest again. "Well, fine then. I don't have anything to hide."

Crowley and the angels trooped after Michael and Gabriel as they went on their way toward his office. Gabriel opened his office door with a furious yank, sweeping his arm around the space.

"See? Nothing here!"

A thump and muffled sound came from the closet and Gabriel's face went instantly pale. Crowley just barely hid his satisfied smirk.

"Nothing, eh?" he asked as he pushed past the archangel and went over to the closet, throwing the door open.

Aziraphale blinked up at Crowley, Gabriel and Michael as they stood in the open door.

Crowley shoved the sword into Gabriel's chest and the archangel just barely caught it before it slipped out of his hands and stabbed him in the foot.

"But…but I…" he stammered. "This isn't…"

Crowley reached inside the closet, snapping his fingers to undo the manacles then pulled Aziraphale to his feet. He met the angel's eyes as Aziraphale reached up to pull the gag off, and the angel offered him a small smile to tell him he was okay.

"Well, looks like our transaction is complete," Crowley said, taking Aziraphale by the elbow and leading him past the archangels. "We'll be leaving now."

"You were actually working with a demon?" Michael demanded. "And you had Aziraphale here this whole time? I told you we don't want him back! He's too much trouble."

"Oh, like you're one to talk," Gabriel growled. "You've worked with demons before too."

A small gasp proceeded by chatter swept through the other angels listening outside the door and Michael's face went red with fury.

"None of this is true!" Gabriel shouted. "They set us up! They're too smart for their own good!"

Crowley spun around, getting close to Gabriel's face and hissing, "I think it would be best for you, if you were to just… _stay quiet."_

Gabriel froze, glowering at him and Crowley grabbed Aziraphale arm again and ushered him out past the other angels who swarmed Gabriel and Michael, asking questions neither of them wanted to answer.

The two hurried to the exit and were soon back on Earth. They didn't stop until they were back at the Bentley and they both sagged, looking at each other.

"I can't believe that actually worked," Aziraphale breathed.

Crowley was trying to calm his breathing as he started the engine and began to drive away. He couldn't believe it had worked either. He was still half expecting the armies of Heaven and Hell to show up at any minute in retribution. He turned to the angel. "Are you okay?"

Aziraphale nodded. "Yes…Do you think that really settled it?"

Crowley sighed. "I don't know. Probably not forever—don't think we could ever be that lucky. But for now, yes, I think we will be left alone. But I think it would be wise to have some sort of contingency plan worked out." He glanced over at the angel. "It's not too late to go to alpha centuri."

Aziraphale sighed. "No, but…I think we belong here, Crowley."

Crowley felt his heart twinge again as he remembered Aziraphale's pained response to why he had gone to Gabriel in the first place, " _I just wanted to help_." And they did help, both of them. Heaven and Hell might think of them as their public enemy number one, but in truth they never wanted to do anything to hurt anyone. They just wanted to be left alone to help people with ordinary or not so ordinary problems. Was that really too much to ask? Really, the other angels might do better for following by their example. It was rather a lot to cover for just two beings.

"You're right," he said finally. "And that's why we're not going anywhere. And they can't make us."

Crowley drove back to the bookshop because it wasn't any less safe than his own flat really and he wanted his friend to be home and comfortable.

He really just wanted everything to go back to normal again.

_~~~~~~~_

_Aziraphale felt a little_ relief as he walked back into his bookshop. It was familiar and friendly and he thought that perhaps putting up some wards might not be out of the question.

But for now, he really just needed to sit down with a nice cup of tea.

"Should I put on some water?" Crowley asked as if reading his mind.

"Oh, no, I'll do it, I…I need something to do," Aziraphale told him before hurrying to the small kitchenette and filling the kettle, setting it on the stove. He wasn't sure what to do, if he were being honest. He was having a rather hard time not thinking about Gabriel's cruelty and his recent captivity. It may have been short, relatively, but he had never truly felt so helpless. The fear that even if he had been able to call for help that no one might care enough to help him had weighed heavily on him. And on top of that, the thought that doing that and getting caught would only cause Gabriel to make good on his threats to drag Crowley to Heaven too and torture him instead made everything twice as bad.

He just wished things could be different. He had always understood that humans could sometimes be inexplicably cruel, but he supposed he hadn't really realized before that angels also could share the same qualities. How had he never noticed before? Had he just ignored it subconsciously in some way as to protect himself, or had he simply never actually seen Heaven for what it was?

"Angel. Aziraphale!"

He startled as he was shaken and blinked with a small gasp, seeing Crowley in front of him, gripping his shoulders, a worried look on his face. Aziraphale swallowed hard and suddenly realized the kettle was whistling.

"Oh," he whispered, not sure what else to say.

Crowley let him go for a moment to pull the kettle off the stove and pour the boiling water into two cups with the tea. "Talk to me, angel."

Aziraphale sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over his face. "I don't know if I can. I'm not sure what to say."

"Well, first off, don't worry about Gabriel, because I don't think he'll try anything again for a while since his plan backfired and caused all sorts of trouble in Heaven. If I were him I'd rather forget about you all together."

"You didn't see him, Crowley," Aziraphale said, wringing his hands. "When he…when he had me…he was just so cruel. So petty. He may not come after us for a while, but he could try anything! He threatened to tell everyone we were traitors—if we can fake things so can he."

"Well, if he does, we'll fight," Crowley said firmly.

"I just don't want you to get hurt, dear," Aziraphale said.

Crowley scoffed. "Aziraphale, whatever we do now we do together. I'll be fine, and you will too, no matter what happens. I still think there's a reason we survived before, and if you want my opinion, I think that should scare Heaven and Hell a lot more than it seems to be doing."

Crowley led Aziraphale back into the sitting area and the angel slumped onto the couch, Crowley beside him as the demon handed him a cup of tea. Aziraphale clutched it in his hands.

"I don't know why this has me in such a tizzy," Aziraphale said, trying to wave it all away.

Crowley took off his glasses and looked at him incredulously. "You were kidnapped and tortured, Aziraphale, you have every right to feel this way." He looked down, but Crowley reached out and grabbed his wrist. "Hey. You're not going to be an idiot and think this was all okay for some reason, are you?"

Aziraphale sighed. "No. I know it's not, I suppose I'm more angry than anything that I didn't realize at first that that was exactly how it was going to go. For a moment, Crowley, when he said that someday I could have my old job back, my powers…for a moment I really hoped that was true. Is that wrong of me?"

"No, angel," Crowley sighed, slumping over with his elbows on his knees. "You always have seen the good in people and that's a good thing—you shouldn't stop. I just gave that up a long time ago because I got tired of being proven wrong. But…I get it. Sometimes I think about what it would be like…going back to Heaven."

Aziraphale glanced up, surprised at his friend's admission. "You do?"

Crowley shrugged self-consciously. "Yeah, but then, things like this…make me glad we're on our own side. I think we're better off here."

Aziraphale nodded. "I just feel rather silly about the whole thing." Then he felt sick to his stomach. "It could have gone so much worse."

Crowley had a distant look in his eye as if he too were thinking about how much worse it could have gone. He took a deep breath and then held out one hand. "It's over now, angel. Let's forget about them and go back to doing what we're meant to."

Aziraphale nodded and clasped Crowley's proffered hand, feeling the demon squeeze his comfortingly. He managed a small smile. "Yes, I think that would be best."

Their troubles might not be over completely, but in that moment, Aziraphale knew that as long as they stuck together and did what they believed to be the right thing, then he thought they would probably be all right.


End file.
